Tulsa
event guide
INSIDE!
Book Review 2 6 11
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 8
F R E E
NEW AND OF INTEREST
C H E C K
The Winter Witch Love and Magic Page 6
A Constellation of Viral Phenomena
I T
Life in the Shadow of War Page 8
One Gorilla: A Counting Book
O U T
Counting with Primates Page 9
Pathfinder Tales: Liar’s Blade Just A Man and His Sword. Page 12
The Last Original Wife
By Dorothea Benton Frank William Morrow, $26.99, 368 pages Meet Dorothea Benton Frank on June 25 at Central Library. See Page 4 for details.
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June 2013
You don’t read a Dorothea Benton Frank novel for lyrical language or an especially deep thematic take on the human condition, a la Leo Tolstoy or Louise Erdrich. No, you read her to have a friends’ night out … in book form. So uncork the wine and get ready for a relaxing evening, talking and laughing and getting to know the characters of Benton Frank’s latest, The Last Original Wife. Leslie and Wesley (Les and Wes: cute) Carter begin the novel in separate therapist’s offices. Their 30-year marriage is at a standstill, all
because of a little misunderstanding – according to Wes – and a fatal marital flaw – according to Les. On a golfing trip to Edinburgh, Les fell into an open manhole and Wes didn’t realize it until he’d gotten back to the hotel … 45 minutes later. He’d been too busy talking with his best friend and the best friend’s new (and much younger) wife to notice his life partner was at the bottom of a hole, with a broken arm and knockedout teeth. See Last Original Wife, cont’d on page 5
Craving: Why We Can’t Seem to Get Enough Cravings Do Not Have to Rule Your Life Page 16
44 Reviews INSIDE!
Book Reviews Category
Mystery SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
The Devereaux Legacy By Carolyn Hart Seventh Street Books, $13.95, 160 pages Check this out! In my opinion, Carolyn Hart is incapable of writing a noninteresting book. This one is vastly different from her later series (Death on Demand, Henrie O), but it’s still in South Carolina, and heavy on atmosphere, with a dandy mystery thrown in. Imagine visiting a small town where your family once lived, and when visiting the graveyard – whoa! There’s a stone with your own name on it! But you know for certain that you did not drown at the age of two, so what else can be done but to investigate. The Devereaux plantation is much as it’s been for the past two hundred years, and perhaps not everything done to keep it that way has been totally aboveboard. Leah not only discovers family she knew nothing about, but also history and tradition. Believing herself to be an orphan, raised in Texas by her paternal grandmother, Leah sets out on her journey of discovery when Louise suffers a fatal heart attack. There are previously unknown cousins in residence at Devereaux House, and possibly romance. Not to mention the Whispering Lady – a ghost who appears to foretell someone’s death. Leah can only hope it won’t be hers. Dare she trust John Edward, his sister Missy or their brother Merrick? This is Gothic at its best. Read and enjoy! Reviewed by Kelly Ferjutz Braking Points: A Kate Reilly Mystery By Tammy Kaehler Poisoned Pen Press, $24.95, 250 pages Check this out! To succeed in a man’s world, a woman has to be more than twice as good – fact. Women have been successful in auto racing, although only lately in Indy-Cars or LeMans
type races – in the USA. In other parts of the world it’s been happening for more years, and women have competed equally with the guys. Kate Reilly has worked her way up in the racing world to being one of the team drivers in a racing series that features two- or three-drivers per car, for these longer than usual races. The American LeMans Series features endurance racing – on some.... ...tracks it’s whichever team exceeds the 1000 miles minimum that takes home the trophy. Generally, there are two classes of cars – light and heavy – on the track at the same time. The lighter ones do better in the curves and corners, but the heavies gain it back on the straights. This kind of racing takes talent, muscle and – brains. It’s the last race of the season and Kate’s team – racing Corvettes – is near the top in the standings, but her own world is falling apart around her. A big name from a competing race series – a NASCAR champion – tangles with Kate on the track and he ends up in the hospital. Immediately his fan club begins to create a bad publicity storm over her head. Then later that evening, a good friend from her past dies mysteriously and only then does Kate discover that her newish boy-friend was once engaged to the woman. On top of all that, an ‘anonymous’ but influential blogger about all things racing does his best to make Kate the target for all the animosity available in the southern racing world – where NASCAR rules and male chauvinism is rampant. One misogynist in particular has put Kate squarely in the center of his target. His barbs are both frequent and nasty. And – the father Kate never knew has suddenly appeared in her life with his new family, and wants to build a relationship with her. His bank is a series sponsor so she can hardly ignore him or his two pesky nephews, who resent her big-time, sight unseen. See Braking Points, cont’d on page 8
Tulsa Book Review • June 2013 • 2
MYSTERIES/THRILLERS
COMING SOON
TO TULSA CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY Search the library’s catalog at http://tulsalibrary.org to reserve your copies now.
Shotgun Lullaby by Steve Ulfelder
Compelled to help Gus, the obnoxious alcoholic son of a wealthy investment banker who reminds him of his own son, Conway Sax investigates a triple murder and suspicions that Gus was the intended victim.
Brush With Death by Karen MacInerney
For Natalie Barnes, the flurry of trendy artists setting up shop on Cranberry Island promises to be the perfect recipe for relaxing and enjoying the holiday season. But Natalie’s good luck is turning out to be a stroke of misfortune for her niece, Gwen. The local gallery’s new owner hates Gwen’s paintings, and her mentor Fernand is too distracted by a competing artist to help Gwen improve her style. When Natalie finds Fernand dead, seemingly the victim of suicide, she can’t believe someone who had so much joy and success in his life would kill himself. Finding clues at Fernand’s home that support her suspicion of murder, Natalie’s hunt for answers places her next on the killer’s list. Will she be able to solve this murder masterpiece before it’s too late?
Dead Lions by Mick Herron
When a Cold War-era colleague is murdered far from his usual haunts, a team of disgraced MI5 spies under the leadership of irascible Jackson Lamb uncovers a shadowy tangle of secrets to a man who hides his dangerous powers behind a false identity.
Requiem Mass: A Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Fenwick Mystery by Elizabeth Corley When a woman who police believed abandoned her tired marriage turns up murdered, DCI Andrew Fenwick discovers that the victim was one of four friends who are being targeted by a vengeful killer for their role in a falling death 20 years earlier.
Siege: A Thriller by Simon Kernick
London is under attack. An unknown number of its citizens are dead. Many more lives hang in the balance as a group of highly trained gunmen storm the luxurious Stanhope Hotel on Park Lane, demanding the government meet their requests within five hours or they will blow up the building and everyone still inside it.
Free Fall by Chris Grabenstein
New Jersey officer Danny Boyle tries to help an old nurse friend who claims she has been falsely accused of assault by a wealthy shore resident, but the case becomes more complicated when the nurse’s homecare patient turns up dead.
Sign of the Cross by Thomas Mogford
Receiving the shocking news that his mild-mannered uncle and aunt have died in a violent domestic dispute, Gibraltar lawyer Spike Sanguinetti accompanies his aging father across the Mediterranean to act as executor of the wills only to uncover disturbing truths that prompt an investigation at the ornate palazzos of the legendary Knights of St. John.
Tulsa
Book Review
IN THIS ISSUE Mystery..........................................................2
Tulsa City-County Library 400 Civic Center Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103 Ph. (918) 549-7323 EDITOR IN CHIEF Ross Rojek ross@1776productions.com
Romance.........................................................4 Popular Culture..............................................4 Mind & Body Fitness.......................................5
GRAPHIC DESIGN/LAYOUT Grayson Hjaltalin grayson.hjaltalin@1776productions.com
Fiction..................................................6, 7 & 8
James Rasmussen COPY EDITORS Lori Freeze Cathy Lim Karen Stevens Robyn Oxborrow Holly Scudero Kim Winterheimer Audrey Curtis Annie Peters Amy Simko Jamais Jochim EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Adrian Girth Alee Shabouni Audrey Curts Christopher Hayden James Rasmussen Jonathon Howard Marie Clementi Megan Rynott Samantha Herman Toni B. Willis WEBSITE TulsaBookReview.com DISTRIBUTED BY Urban Tulsa Weekly The Tulsa Book Review is published monthly by 1776 Productions, LLC. The opinions expressed in these pages are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Tulsa Book Review or 1776 Productions advertisers. All images are copyrighted by their respective copyright holders. All words ©2013, LLC.
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Picture Books.................................................9 Kids’ Books...................................................10 Teen Scene....................................................11 Fantasy.........................................................12
FROM THE PUBLISHER Summer is upon us and chances are another season of record-breaking heat. One place – or rather 25 places – that will remain cool is the library, specifically the 25 locations of the Tulsa City-County Library. All are great places to find a good book to read or listen to, as well as a great place to attend a free family-friendly program, some of which are detailed within this publication. Summer is also a great time for kids and teens to participate along with 45,000 of their peers in one of the most successful summer reading programs in the U.S. The theme for this year’s Children’s Summer Reading Program is “Dig Into Reading,” while the theme for the program for teens/ tweens is “Below the Surface.” Great prizes are in store for all children and youth who complete the program. Adults looking for a great summer read should check out The Last Original Wife, a novel by New York Times best-selling author Dorothea Benton Frank, who will be visiting the Central Library in downtown Tulsa on June 25 at 7 p.m. for a free public program. I hope you will join me in encouraging children and teens to participate in the library’s Summer Reading Program. In the interim, I hope to see you at the Central Library on June 25 to meet Ms. Benton Frank. Until then ... Best regards,
Science Fiction..............................................12 Historical Fiction..........................................13
Gary Shaffer Tulsa City-County Library CEO
Biography & Memoir............................14 & 15 Nature & Science...........................................16 Free Music Downloads..................................16
Coming Up! Mark your calendars for Saturday, Aug. 3 for Tulsa City-County Library’s “The Civil War Sesquicentennial,” a family-focused event commemorating the 150th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg. The free event will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Central Library, Fourth Street and Denver Avenue, as a lead-up to author Jim Murphy’s visit to Tulsa Aug. 23 and 24 to accept the 2013 Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature. Murphy is the author of The Long Road to Gettysburg and other award-winning nonfiction books for children and young adults.
Book Reviews Category
Category
Romance
Popular Culture
SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
A Duke Never Yields (Affairs by Moonlight Trilogy) By Juliana Gray Berkley Sensation, $7.99, 320 pages Check this out! Lady Abigail Harewood doesn’t care a bit what society thinks of her. Nor does she want a husband. After a great deal of research into erotic literature, she’s decided to have the affair of a lifetime before breaking it off dramatically and living her life quite contentedly. When she happens to cross paths with the handsome but determined-not-to-marry Duke of Wallingford, she knows at once that he would be her first lover. She would make it so… yet this wouldn’t be half as easy as she anticipated. As it turns out, both Lady Abigail’s party and the Duke of Wallingford have rented the same Italian castle for a year. Abigail is thrilled and sets to work. Wallingford, who has pledged chastity for the year, tries in vain to resist her. Before long, they both have left behind their pretenses and promises and find each other entwined in each other’s arms. The curse and ghosts involved in their story make it quite unique indeed. The third novel in Juliana Gray’s Moonlight Trilogy, A Duke Never Yields is a continuation of a grand tale. It does well as a standalone novel, but makes even more sense if you’ve read the previous books first. I found Abigail and Wallingford to be complicated and lovable characters and was instantly drawn into their world. The ghosts were a bit weird for my liking, but if your give yourself up to the story and enjoy it for what it is, the book is fantastic. Reviewed by Jennifer Melville
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A Most Improper Rumor: A Whispers of Scandal Novel By Emma Wildes Signet, $7.99, 336 pages Not sure, but they can absolutely be damaging as several young ladies of prominence in Regency England have discovered to their dismay. Widowed twice and still barely four-andtwenty, Lady Angelina DeBrooke is *rumored* to have poisoned both her husbands, yet she continues to declare her innocence, and indeed a trial has cleared her of the second charge. Dare she fall in love again? Benjamin Wallace, Lord Heathton, known to occasionally investigate a mystery was a friend to the lady’s second husband, and more than dismayed by the man’s death. However, he did not expect the widow to appeal to him for help in finding the real criminal. Of course, he also hadn’t expected peacetime to be so fraught with tension and drama. A criminal mastermind is at work here, as Lord Heathton learned the previous year when his wife’s cousin was abducted. At least she was married before the rumors took over. Could the same evil person be at the root of Lady DeBrooke’s difficulties? When the lady’s lover, Christopher Durham, Baron Lowe, a noted architect, also appeals to Ben for help, he cannot resist. At the same time, Ben’s own marriage is blossoming, as Alicia is with child. The usually reserved earl finds himself being drawn in several directions in this wellwritten, well-plotted and exciting Regency historical novel. There will be at least one more story in this series. Reviewed by Kelly Ferjutz
The Ordinary Acrobat: A Journey into the Wondrous World of the Circus, Past and Present By Duncan Wall Knopf, $26.95, 336 pages Everyone has an image in their mind when they hear the word “circus”, but does it truly encapsulate everything the word entails? Does your image include P.T. Barnum, freakshows, Cirque du Soleil, artistry, absurdism, mime, and death defiance? Probably not, and that’s where The Ordinary Acrobat picks up. A marvelous mingling of personal memoir and historical love letter, The Ordinary Acrobat charts one man’s exploration of the
Tulsa Book Review • June 2013 • 4
life, death, and rebirth of the circus, all while delving into the minutiae and mechanics of the art firsthand as a student in one of France’s premiere training grounds. This book is a delight, evoking that sense See Ordinary Acrobat, cont’d on page 8
A N E V E N I N G W I T H N E W YO R K T I M E S B E ST- S E L L I N G AU T H O R
Dorothea Benton Frank Tuesday, June 25 • 7-8:30 p.m. Central Library, second floor Fourth Street and Denver Avenue 918.549.7323
Dorothea “Dottie” Benton Frank will talk about her new book, “The Last Original Wife,” answer questions from the audience and sign books. Frank is also the author of “Porch Lights,” “Folly Beach,” “Lowcountry Summer,” “Bulls Island,” “Sullivans Island” and numerous other New York Times best-selling novels. Copies of her books will be available for purchasing, courtesy of Barnes & Noble. Sponsored by
Book Reviews Category
Mind & Body Fitness SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Pursuing the Good Life: 100 Reflections on Positive Psychology By Christopher Peterson Oxford University Press, USA, $24.95, 368 pages What is positive psychology? Since its inception, p s yc hol o g y has focused primarily on what’s wrong with people. Positive psychology, new even in the relatively juvenile field of psychology, instead examines what’s right. Not a self-help book or a shortlived self-proclaimed panacea, Christopher Peterson in Pursing the Good Life: 100 Reflections on Positive Psychology gives
essays on the things that make life worth living. So what makes life worth living? In short, work, love, play, and service. Happiness can be taught, it’s not, according to Peterson, a thing that “happens” to someone. What makes us happy? Satisfaction with life, having close relationships, contributing to community, experiencing more positive emotions than negative, and living a life with purpose: these are the fundamentals of a happy life. Utilizing one’s strengths and being engaged with activities are other contributing components that help lead to happiness. Happiness can be cultivated is the central message here. Is this just more BS? Let the data and studies speak for themselves. But it’s certainly a lot more promising than many other titles on happiness. Peterson’s style is casual but intellectual and his enthusiasm is infectious. His work speaks for itself. And it left this reviewer feeling happier after reading. Reviewed by Axie Barclay
Last Original Wife, cont’d from cover
Les goes on a long vacation to visit her brother in Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina (where all of Benton Frank’s heroines end up) – and leaves Wes to fend for himself. While she’s there, she meets an old high school flame, who is conveniently single and far more sensitive and open to her needs (the novel does have a large element of wish fulfillment for women “of a certain age”). Divided into chapters with alternating narratives from Les and Wes, and with three main sections jumping back and forth in time, the novel details the attempts of two people from very different emotional places trying to reconcile. The ending is not surprising but fitting nonetheless, and with Benton Frank’s easy conversational style, witty asides (Les is especially amusing as she describes all of the shiny new wives), and strong female characters, readers who enjoy Mary Kay Andrews or Adriana Trigiani will feel at home. Part The Starter Wife, The First Wives Club and the recent Meryl Streep movie Hope Springs, The Last Original Wife is a decent entry into the late-marriage-discord genre. Kick off your shoes and enjoy! Reviewed by Laura Raphael
Les isn’t sure what is worse – that he didn’t realize his own wife was suddenly gone, or that he went golfing the next day while she was suffering in the hospital. Wes can’t believe she would blame him for what was clearly an accident (read: not his fault). Furthermore, he’d made the golf reservation two years ago! Did she really expect him to cancel something he’d been waiting two years to do? What, just to hold her hand in the hospital? The fundamental misunderstanding at the center of the Wes and Les marriage is a familiar one to many longtime, traditional couples. She has been the homemaker, he the breadwinner; she the emotional caretaker, he the financial bedrock. Although they have two children and a granddaughter together, they rarely spend time with each other, and Les is beginning to feel more and more disconnected. The fact that she is “the last original wife” among Wes’ friends (all of the others have died or been replaced with new models) is another reason for their problems: Wes thinks it’s admirable that he’s held on to her, while Les just feels old and out of place.
Tulsa Book Review • June 2013 • 5
Meet Author
Jim Murphy WINNER OF THE TULSA LIBRARY TRUST’S 2013 ANNE V. ZARROW AWARD FOR YOUNG READERS’ LITERATURE
Zarrow Award Presentation Friday, Aug. 23 • 7 p.m. Gilcrease Museum 1400 N. Gilcrease Museum Road
2013 Young People’s Creative Writing Contest Awards Presentation Saturday, Aug. 24 • 10 a.m. Hardesty Regional Library Connor’s Cove • 8316 E. 93rd St.
Jim Murphy masterfully makes history come alive in his more than 30 nonfiction books for children and young adults. During his prestigious career, he has received many awards and honors, including two Newbery Honor Book awards, a National Book Award finalist medal, three Jefferson Cup awards, two Golden Kite awards, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, as well as the 2010 Margaret A. Edwards Award, which is a lifetime achievement honor. Murphy will speak about his life and works, and sign books at both events. Copies of his books will be available for purchasing.
Jim Murphy’s “The Long Road to Gettysburg”
comes alive! Funday Sunday
Sunday, June 16 • noon-4 p.m. Gilcrease Museum • 1400 Gilcrease Museum Road • For ages 4-15 Families are invited to see the acclaimed film “Shenandoah,” play stilt-walking games, enjoy a variety of art activities reflecting what children in the 1800s would make, and hear stories about the Civil War and Gettysburg. Museum admission is free to all visitors.
The Civil War Sesquicentennial
Saturday, Aug. 3 • 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Central Library • Fourth Street and Denver Avenue Relive history at this family-focused event commemorating the 150th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg.
Book Reviews Category
Fiction SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
The Accursed By Joyce Carol Oates Ecco, $27.99, 669 pages Check this out! This macabre, pseudohistorical novel takes place during the peak of a curse that nearly destroys the town of Pr inceton, New Jersey in the early 1900s. The narrator, a historian native to Princeton, documents a series of horrors that take place in this sleepy, privileged college town. The narrative style is such that I had to read the copyright page to ensure that I was reading a novel, rather than a true account! The main protagonists, the fictitious Slade family, represent early American settlers and very old money. The characters also include actual people: Woodrow Wilson, Upton Sinclair, Grover Cleveland, and Mark Twain. This lush and beautifully written novel is filled with vivid descriptions of Princeton and its inhabitants, however, beneath the pretty civility of Princeton lie demons, carnal desire, adultery, occult worship, and murder. The innocent Slade grandchildren face hallucinations, kidnapping, and gruesome torture, yet no one seems to know how to protect them. During the course of the novel, the curse is never clearly formed or understood, yet major social questions seem to link its different manifestations. The Accursed explores racial, social, and gender inequality, yet, for the most part, the main characters are unable or unwilling to face their own participation in socially acceptable bigotry. A deliciously rich novel, filled with gorgeous and ghastly visions, The Accursed is a must read for any fan of modern fiction, horror, or American history. Reviewed by Kerry Lindgren
The Winter Witch By Paula Brackston Thomas Dunne Books, $24.99, 352 pages Check this out! From the gorgeous hardcover design to the sumptuous prose within, The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston sweeps the reader off to n i neteent hc e nt u r y Wales, into windswept mountains, thick with magic and the promise of love. When widower Cai Jenkins came looking for a wife, he settled on a mysterious mute girl from over the hills, making arrangements quickly with the girl’s mother and carrying her away to his farm in the mountains. Morgana, finding herself a hopeless hand in the kitchen and in social situations in her new community, finds herself in love with the gorgeous landscape surrounding her. But strange circumstances swirl around Morgana, even away from her native village, especially when she gets angry. As Cai wins her heart, Morgana finds she must defend her hearth, home, and man against the town’s denizens, learning to control her power before she loses all. Brackston’s unique voice and particular brand of energy and tightly packed language is all-pervasive in her second novel. Brackston’s brand of magic feels organic, never forced on the story. Morgana and Cai are strong individuals and interesting narrators. This is a truly pleasurable book with a magic in the reading that’s all its own. Reviewed by Axie Barclay
gift of sight can be the worst thing that ever happens to a man in a land where color has no meaning. Welcome to the world of H.G. Wells, father of science fiction, and Zdenko Basic, illustrator of uneasy dreams. As a long-time fan of H.G. Wells, I was overjoyed to have the chance to review this volume of the Steampunk Classics series that includes The Time Machine, War of the Worlds and Country of the Blind. Wells writes in a clear, straightforward manner that rarely strays into bouts of overly verbose prose that many Victorian-era writers seem drawn to. Without having to fight their way through a lot of flowery oration to get to the meat of the matter, readers are easily able to experience the surprise, apprehension and sometimes stark fear that Wells often evokes. Partnered with Basic’s richly detailed, steampunk-inspired haunting images, Wells’ well-loved tales take on an even higher level of disquiet. A must for fans of all ages and genres! Reviewed by Heather Clawson
Steampunk: H.G. Wells By Zdenko Basic, illustrator Running Press Kids, $18.95, 408 pages Welcome to a world where men move not just across space, but through time. Where alien monstrosities declare war against mankind and the most humble of earth’s organisms are positioned to save it. Where the Tulsa Book Review • June 2013 • 6
The Love Song of Jonny Valentine By Teddy Wayne Free Press, $24.99, 304 pages Check this out! Jonny Valentine is an eleven-yearold pop singing sensation. Narrated in first person, Jonny talks the talk; he drops phrases like “It’s better to have a poorly produced album with a robust marketing budget” like a pro. Underneath he’s a little boy; worried about becoming the victim of a child predator, sneaking fast food when he’s supposed to be eating salads, and searching for his long lost father on the internet. While in pop star mode, Jonny frets about the extra few pounds he’s putting on, substitutes video games for social interaction, and takes sleeping pills that he gets from his mother/manager. His days and nights are programmed, his schooling is with a private tutor, and he expertly
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Book Reviews parrots the phrase, “If it wasn’t for my fans I wouldn’t be here. Everything I do is for them,” masking whether or not he really enjoys his fame and his life style. At the heart of the story is Jonny trying to find his father. He hears from a man online who appears to be the real thing. Jonny’s mom hasn’t said much about his father, except that Jonny is better off without him. At its climax, Jonny plots to meet with the man he believes to be his dad, defying his all powerful mother. Jonny is a believable and sympathetic character, one the reader will empathize with because of his compromised childhood. Jonny is the everychild in terms of what a young celebrity endures and loses in the name of fame. Reviewed by Leslie Wolfson As Sweet as Honey By Indira Ganesan Knopf, $25.95, 288 pages Check this out!
As Sweet as Honey, by Indira Ganesan, concentrates on matters of the heart at odds with old school cultural expectations on the island of Pi in the Bay of Bengal. In this tiny enclave, Ganesan reveals the conversations and reactions of a large extended family dealing with a cultural faux pas committed by their dearly loved Aunt Meterling. The story is told through the eyes of Mina, a young girl whose parents are studying in America. Mina’s aunts, uncles, and grandmother assume a parental role in her life. Tongues begin to wag when quiet, and somewhat rebellious, Aunt Meterling gets engaged to a white man from Europe. The family was a bit relieved at the news because Meterling had almost become a spinster. Tragedy strikes when the groom dies on the wedding day. Tongues wag even more when news breaks that Meterling is pregnant with the dead groom’s child. Sex before marriage is a big taboo on Pi. And there in the middle of all the drama is Mina, absorbing the gossip and speculation like a sponge. Will Meterling remarry or will grief be the end of her? The story gets a little thick with minutia, but Ganesan compensates with beautiful prose. Reviewed by Grady Jones Doughnut By Tom Holt Orbit, $13.99, 400 pages Theo Bernstein is going through a rough patch. One small mistake on Theo’s part—a misplaced decimal point—results in the de-
Fiction struction of the Very Very Large Hadron Collider (and the mountain housing it) and consequently Theo’s job. Embarrassed, his wife has left him, and he’s lost all of his money. He’s working in a slaughterhouse disposing of entrails and sleeping on the slaughterhouse floor. One day a letter arrives informing Theo of his mentor’s death and a bequest left in a safety deposit box.Theo finds an empty bottle, a compact, a fresh apple, and a letter offering him a job. This seemingly innocuous inheritance begins a chain of events that involves alternate realities, resuscitating the believed-to-be dead, and bizarre forays into the field of theoretical physics. Doughnut is just what you’d expect from Tom Holt: weird, imaginative, and completely unexpected. Kafkaesque scenes of bureaucracy mix with slapstick comedy, a healthy dose of sarcasm, and some oddly accurate descriptions of sibling relationships. I’m not sure I understood the math or the physics that made this story possible—I’m not sure Holt does either—but it didn’t make the ride any less pleasurable. Reviewed by Tammy McCartney Gossip: A Novel By Beth Gutcheon William Morrow Paperbacks, $14.99, 304 pages Check this out! Gossip by Beth Gutcheon is a novel about three women with the unusual names of Dinah, Avis, and Loviah, who became acqu a inted while attending an exclusive East Coast boarding school. Loviah, the owner of a high-end dress shop in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, narrates the story which follows the classmates lives for several decades. True to its title, the pages of Gossip are full of secrets shared behind others’ backs, which are told around luncheon tables and charity events. Loviah knows intimate truths about her former classmates, but being what she considers to be a true friend, she rarely name drops and keeps the secrets to herself.
The story’s juicy bits of gossip are well written,with vivid depictions of clothes, jewelry, and landscapes. While reading the novel, I felt it lacked substance until the very end. As in any story told in the first person, the reader learns much about the narrator, but Loviah’s ongoing affair with a married man was underdeveloped, leaving me wanting more of that aspect of the story. There are many underlying truths in this novel about gossip and the destructive effects it can have on the lives of others. Reviewed by Diane Ledet Benediction By Kent Haruf Knopf, $25.95, 272 pages Check this out! Dad Lewis is dying. As he sits looking out the window at the prairie beyond his barn, Dad knows that he won’t see the end of summer. When his wife, no longer young herself, col-
lapses, Dad realizes that it’s time to call their daughter home. With Lorraine home, the family settles into a routine of visits with neighbors and the slow process of saying goodbyes. Everyone longs for Frank, the Lewis’s son, to return, but there’s no way to contact him. Each character nurses hurts and everyone struggles with letting go, until Dad dies and they have no choice in the matter. Haruf does not pad this simple story of life and loss with unnecessary description or interior reflection. As in life, the reader only observes exteriors and only hears what the characters say aloud. The result is an extremely straightforward novel, beautiful in its starkness and powerful in its expression of universal emotion. My favorite scene is simple like the book itself: three older women and a young girl go swimming naked in a cow trough beneath the summer sun. With minimal use of adjectives, Haruf manages to convey the freedom and the joy of the moment. The beauty of the book is not in the plot but in individual scenes like this. Reviewed by Tammy McCartney
Saturday, June 1
Central Library • Fourth Street and Denver Avenue • 918.549.7323 Tulsa joins dozens of other cities around the country for the National Day of Civic Hacking. Let’s roll up our sleeves and improve our community!
Tulsa Wiki Editathon • 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Join developers, writers, designers, data geeks, leaders, idea makers and other citizens to kick start your Tulsa Wiki! Whether you’re a Tulsa County native or new to the area, you can collaborate with and learn from your neighbors on the Tulsa Wiki. Anyone can add to it, anytime—just visit www.tulsawiki. org. Join us for this Tulsa Wiki edit party, featuring Wiki 101, food for our contributors and a big sense of community. Pitch in for part or all of the day. Kickoff is at 10 a.m.; wrap-up and prizes at 3:30 p.m.
Code for Tulsa Brigade Meetup • noon-1:30 p.m.
Code for Tulsa (codefortulsa.org) will host an open meetup for everyone interested in civic apps and open data. Discuss challenges and opportunities to help Tulsa government work better by leveraging the talent and best practices in our tech community.
Registration and More Information
Visit http://www.tulsawiki.org/ndoch for more information on Tulsa’s National Day of Civic Hacking event. Register for the event at https://ndochtulsa.eventbrite.com. Sponsored by
Tulsa Book Review • June 2013 • 7
Book Reviews A Constellation of Vital Phenomena By Anthony Marra Hogarth, $26.00, 400 pages Check this out! War has obliterated the small Chechnyan village of Eldár. The few villagers who are left after Federal reprisals live in constant fear that the Feds will return and more loved ones will disappear. Friendships dissolve under the weight of worry, and one father refuses to speak to his son after the son becomes an informer. After informing for two years, Ramzan reaches a point in which he must give information about his best friend, information that results in his friend’s disappearance and a Federal search for his daughter. The village doctor, Akhmed, shelters the eight-year-old girl in the only way he knows; he takes her to the city hospital and volunteers his service for her safe keeping. The head surgeon at the hospital nurses her own wounds, and the trio’s interactions are stark and painful and beautiful. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is a tale of a country decimated by war and the survivors who negotiate their daily lives in war’s shadow. The characters deal with the physical hardships—no running water, no electricity, hidden land mines, limited food supplies—with casual aplomb. It is the emotional hardships and the raw emotional wounds that charge each interaction with intense import and make the reader’s heart ache for healing. Reviewed by Tammy McCartney Rage Is Back By Adam Mansbach Viking, $26.95, 304 pages Check this out! No one knows what happened to the Immortal 5 on the night of Dondi’s birth. All eighteenyear-old Dondi knows is the repercussions: his dad’s disappearance, his mom’s anger, Amuse’s death, Fever’s blindness, Cloud 9’s incarceration, Sabor’s suicide. Dondi has spent his life in a haze of questions and pot
Fiction smoke. When rumors reach him (again) of his father’s return, Dondi refuses to believe…until he stumbles upon his father’s unconscious body in the unlikeliest of places. Billy Rage’s reappearance sparks a movement in the fraternity of former graffiti artists, a movement that attempts to discredit a mayoral candidate and exact revenge for the events of that fateful night 18 years ago by tagging every subway train in the city of New York. Rage is Back is a novel of epic nostalgia for the lost art of graffiti and the community of “writers” whose texts graced New York’s subway systems in the 80’s. With language reminiscent of Tarantino, Mansbach creates a cast of memorable characters —particularly Dondi, our smart yet hopelessly naïve narrator — whose personalities are almost as colorful as their graffiti. If Mansbach doesn’t resolve every plot point and confuses the reader with the introduction of magic, it’s easy to forgive him while reading his wittily entertaining dialogue. Reviewed by Tammy McCartney The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat By Edward Kelsey Moore Knopf, $24.95, 320 pages Check this out! In this first novel, Edward Kelsey Moore acquaints us with the southern Indiana town of Plainview and with its African-American residents. Odette, Clarice and Barbara Jean have been each other’s staunch friends since high school. Now in their mid-fifties, they are beginning to experience the perils of aging, such as death and disease. Plainview has evolved like many other towns. The local university has expanded, creating a need for housing and shopping. The color barrier, which had previously dictated that the black folk live only in a shanty town called Leaning Tree, has faded away. The three friends live comfortably in Plainview, yet all have a dim yearning for the notalways-blissful past. There are a few shocking incidents sprinkled through the narrative but the rest is predictable: people who have been wrong and stubbornly insisted in continuing their folly see the error of their ways. There is one miracle. Or is it? As Odette’s Mama says, a miracle is just what’s supposed to be. No matter how exasperated the Supremes may be with each other in any given week, (Clarice is busy not noticing her husband’s infidelities, Barbara Jean is drinking too much, Odette is spending increasing
amounts of time conversing with her dead mother), they will all show up at Earl’s for the Sunday buffet and they will always have each other’s backs. A happy read. Reviewed by Elizabeth Benford Braking Points, cont’d from pg 2 On the plus side, however, is an exciting new sponsor – a beauty company that is supporting breast cancer research – and they’ve chosen six professional women athletes to help spread the word. As one of the six, Kate gets the full treatment – makeup, spa for a day, manicure and pedicure, not to mention a ton of pink garments to add to her wardrobe of racing gear. Through it all, Kate manages to keep her head on her shoulders, for an exciting race at Atlanta Raceway, where she puts her team on the pole. If you’re any kind of a gear-head, you’ll love the descriptive passages where you’re actually in the race car with Kate as she maneuvers the high-horsepower Corvette around sports car-type courses, where the drivers turn both right and left, and also go uphill and down, all the while contending with sometimes faster, sometimes more nimble but less-speedy competitors. It’s a first-class ride! Reviewed by Kelly Ferjutz
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Ordinary Acrobat, cont’d from pg 4 of genuine wonder that so often eludes us in adulthood, tempered by the incredible training and precision required for so many of the acts we take for granted. And there’s a magical honesty in Wall’s narrative, as he candidly offers his insights about the process, not only in his growing enthusiasm for the circus in general and certain domains within it, but also his disinterest with some and disillusionment with others. Much like the circus itself, The Ordinary Acrobat is “a special whirlwind” of heart and scholarly perceptiveness. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas
Join Tulsa County residents in reading folk hero Woody Guthrie’s only fully realized novel – “House of Earth.” Set in Pampa, Texas, during the Dust Bowl, this earthy book uses lyrical language to paint a portrait of hardship and hope. Sharecroppers Tike and Ella May Hamlin don’t ask for much, just a house that can withstand the brutal cold and relentless dust storms that assault their crumbling wooden shack, and a little piece of land on which they can grow their own food. Longing to build with his own hands a sturdy house made of earthen bricks, Tike battles the elements and the oppression of Big Agriculture while living and loving passionately. “House of Earth” illuminates themes that are still relevant today, and is written with powerful, poetic prose that perfectly complements Guthrie’s musical legacy. Copies of “House of Earth” are available for checkout at the Tulsa City-County Library.
TulsaLibrary.org
918.549.READ
June 2013
A free monthly g uide to your community library , its pro g rams and ser v ices
For Children
For Teens/Tweens
Join Tulsa City-County Library's 2013 Summer Reading Program
Continues Through Aug. 3 • Pick up a Summer Reading Program Event Guide at your neighborhood library. Central Library
adult/teen events Bixby Library A-Book-A-Month Discussion Group Wednesday, June 26 • 2-3 p.m. Read any book by Martha Grimes and then join us for this lively discussion. For adults.
Broken Arrow Library Read or Die Manga/Anime Club Saturday, June 15 • 12:30-2 p.m. For ages 12-18.
Broken Arrow Library/South Broken Arrow Great Decisions Wednesday, June 5 • 12:30-2:30 p.m. Join us as we wrap up our Great Decisions series and complete our ballot summary. For adults. Our Cosmic Neighborhood: Venus, Goddess of Love and Beauty Monday, June 24 • 6:30-8 p.m. The Broken Arrow Sidewalk Astronomers invite you to learn about Earth's sister planet, Venus. Afterward, we'll go outside for some sky gazing (weather permitting). For all ages.
National Day of Civic Hacking Event Saturday, June 1 • 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Join developers, writers, designers, data geeks, leaders, idea makers and other citizens to kick start your Tulsa Wiki! Whether you're a Tulsa County native or new to the area, you can collaborate with and learn from your neighbors on the Tulsa Wiki. Anyone can add to it, anytime – just visit www. tulsawiki.org. Join us for this Tulsa Wiki edit party, featuring Wiki 101, food for our contributors and a big sense of community. Pitch in for part or all of the day. Kickoff is at 10 a.m.; wrap-up and prizes at 3:30 p.m. Also, Code for Tulsa will host an open meetup for everyone interested in civic apps and open data from noon to 1:30 p.m. Discuss challenges and opportunities to help Tulsa government work better by leveraging the talent and best practices in our tech community. Advance registration is preferred. Visit http://www.tulsawiki.org/ndoch for more information on Tulsa's National Day of Civic Hacking event. Register for the event at https:// ndochtulsa.eventbrite.com. For adults and teens. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust, Tulsa CityCounty Library Staff Association, Code for Tulsa, Code for America, George Kaiser Family Foundation, Guthrie Green, Random Hacks of Kindness, Chimera and Anspire.
Literacy Tutor Training (Registration Deadline: Friday, May 31) Tuesdays, June 4, 11; Thursdays, June 6, 13 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Location: TCC Southeast Campus Tulsa City-County Library's Ruth G. Hardman Adult Literacy Service needs volunteer tutors to help adults improve their reading and writing skills. Tutors must be 18 years or older and have graduated from high school. Each trained volunteer is matched with an adult student to provide one-toone tutoring once or twice a week. Volunteers are asked to make a one-year commitment to tutor. Tutors must complete all sessions of this workshop. Registration is required. The registration deadline is Friday, May 31. To register for the workshop or for dates of additional workshops scheduled throughout the year, call 918-549-7400 or click on www.tulsalibrary.org/literacy. Before You Seek a Grant: A Checklist for New Nonprofits Thursday, June 6 • 2-3 p.m. Location: Plaza Room • This class is designed for new nonprofits with very little experience in grant seeking. This session will provide you with a step-by-step checklist approach to help you determine your own readiness for foundation fundraising. For adults. Class size is limited. Job Lab Thursdays, June 13, 27 • 2-3:30 p.m. Location: Computer Training Room Update your résumé, search for
jobs online or explore a new career in this special computer lab just for job seekers. You will have access to Microsoft Office software and the Internet. USB flash drives are available for purchasing, or you can bring your own to save your work. Standard printing charges apply. Library staff and resources will be in the lab to provide assistance. For adults. An Evening With Author Dorothea Benton Frank Tuesday, June 25 • 7-8:30 p.m. Location: second floor New York Times best-selling author Dorothea Benton Frank will talk about her new book, "The Last Original Wife." A book signing will follow. Books will be available for purchasing. For adults. Sponsored by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Collinsville Library All Thumbs Knitting Group Wednesdays, June 5, 19 • 1-3 p.m. All levels of knitting expertise are welcome to join us for this fun and instructional afternoon. For adults. Comedy of Errors Book Group Tuesday, June 11 • noon-1 p.m. Join this fun group of readers for a lively discussion. Call the library for book title. For adults. Patchworkers Tuesday, June 11 • 7-8 p.m. Join us if you want to learn to quilt or are an experienced quilter. For adults.
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Hardesty Regional Library "Grandmother Told Me She Left Her Estate to Me. Where's Dad and His Girlfriend?" Wednesday, June 12 • noon-1 p.m. Location: Pecan Room Join attorney Rita Foster as she discusses wills, revocable trusts, powers of attorney and how to avoid probate. For adults. Seating is limited. To reserve a seat, call 918-549-7367. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust. Grant-Seeking Basics for Nonprofits Thursday, June 27 • 10 a.m.-noon Learn about types of grant makers, the grant-seeking research process, and available funding tools and resources. For adults. Class size is limited.
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Jenks Library J-TAG in June Tuesday, June 4 • 4-5 p.m. Join J-TAG as we plan library services and programs for teens! Snacks are provided. Participating in J-TAG can count as community service. For ages 12-18. Jenks Book Discussion Group Thursday, June 20 • 1:30-2:30 p.m. Join us for a lively discussion. Participants should read this month's featured book prior to the program. Call 918549-7570 for book title. For adults.
Judy z. kishner Library Quilt Buddies! Saturday, June 1 • 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Do you enjoy making quilt projects? If so, join this group and make some new friends! For adults. For a list of needed supplies, call 918-549-7577.
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Martin Regional Library 2013 Asian-American Festival Saturday, June 1 • 10:45 a.m.-2 p.m. Celebrate the customs and traditions of Asia with a day of entertaining, educational activities for the entire family. Explore the colorful cultures of Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries in Asia. The festival features martial arts demonstrations; traditional dance performances; authentic arts, crafts and food booths; and lots of fun hands-on activities for children and teens. Sponsored and funded by the Tulsa Library Trust, with assistance from the Tulsa City-County Library Staff Association and Nam Hai Oriental Food Supermarket. For all ages.
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Job Lab Mondays, June 3, 10, 17, 24 • 9-11 a.m. Update your résumé, search for jobs online or explore a new career in this special computer lab just for job seekers. You will have access to Microsoft Office software and the Internet. USB flash drives are available for purchasing, or you can bring your own to save your work. Standard printing charges apply. Library staff and resources will be in the lab to provide assistance. For adults. Spanish Conversation Club Saturdays, June 8, 15, 22, 29 noon-1 p.m. • Practice your Spanish in a low-stress setting! For ages 16 and older. Sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust and the Hispanic Resource Center. Pricing Yourself and Your Work Thursday, June 20 • 6-8 p.m. Are you starting a small business and unsure of what you should charge? Come to this laid-back discussion on the things you need to take into consideration. For adults.
nathan hale LIBRARY
For kids of all ages and their parents
The first 20 children at each program will receive a free gift, plus their parent/guardian will receive a free French baguette and recipe. In addition, every child in attendance will get to enter a drawing for a chance to win a bicycle and helmet from Tom’s Bicycles. Co-sponsored by the YMCA, Tulsa Health Department, Tulsa Fire Department, Operation Aware, Tulsa City-County Library and Tom’s Bicycles.
Exercise and Fitness With Dickenson YMCA Monday, June 10 • 2 p.m. • Panera at 71st and Garnett Healthy Eating and Nutrition With the Tulsa Health Department Tuesday, June 11 • 2 p.m. • Panera at 41st and Hudson Fire and Safety With the Tulsa Fire Department (Including Fire Truck Tour) Wednesday, June 12 • 2 p.m. • Panera at 71st and Garnett Bullying and Self-Esteem With Operation Aware Thursday, June 13 • 2 p.m. • Panera at 41st and Hudson Healthy Kids Storytime With the Tulsa City-County Library Friday, June 14 • 2 p.m. Panera in Owasso (96th Street North and Highway 169)
Diabetes Medicines: Can They Help You Lose Weight? Thursday, June 27 • 3-4 p.m. If you have type 2 diabetes, chances are that you may also struggle with your weight. Learn about medicines used to treat diabetes that may also help you lose weight. For adults.
Rudisill Regional Library Historic All-Black Town Tour Saturday, June 8 • 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Join us on a daylong bus tour of some of Oklahoma's all-black towns, including Grayson, Vernon and Brooksville. Historians will be on board to provide detailed information. Tickets are $35 and include breakfast, lunch and snacks. Children ages 17 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis as seating is limited. To purchase tickets, visit the Rudisill Regional Library. Pay via cash or check as credit cards are not accepted. For all ages. Sponsored by the African-American Resource Center and Tulsa Library Trust. Job Lab Tuesday, June 25 • 1-3 p.m. Update your résumé, search for jobs online or explore a new career in this special computer lab just for
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job seekers. You will have access to Microsoft Office software and the Internet. USB flash drives are available for purchasing, or you can bring your own to save your work. Standard printing charges apply. Library staff and resources will be in the lab to provide assistance. For adults. Registration is required. Call 918-5497645 to register. Man UP and National HIV Testing Day Thursday, June 27 • 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Location: Ancestral Hall National HIV Testing Day is an annual campaign coordinated by the National Association of People With AIDS to encourage people of all ages to "Take the Test, Take Control." Males ages 11-18 are invited to participate in this seminar. Using PregNot curriculum, Youth Services of Tulsa will present interactive learning sessions about Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), relationships and refusal skills. Participants will learn about HIV/AIDS and other STIs, making healthy choices and personal responsibility. Videos, role-play scenarios and discussion groups will make this daylong workshop fun and educational. Free HIV testing will be offered. Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided. Registration is required. For more information and to register, contact Youth Services of Tulsa at 918-382-4436 or email damson@yst.org. Onsite registration and consent by a parent or guardian is required for 11- to 12-year-olds to attend. Sponsored by the AfricanAmerican Resource Center, Tulsa Library Trust, Youth Services of Tulsa, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland Inc., Guiding Right Inc. and Daylight Doughnuts (15th Street location).
SCHUSTERMAN-BENSON Library Mystery Readers Roundtable Thursday, June 6 • 2-3 p.m. Come for coffee and find out what others are reading. For adults.
Suburban Acres Library Summertime Sista' Chat Saturday, June 22 • noon-2 p.m. It's hot, so come inside and join us as we discuss the book "The Supremes at Earl's All-You-CanEat" by Edward Kelsey Moore. Participants should read the book prior to the program. For adults and teens. Seating is limited.
Hearing loop available. Switch hearing aid to T-coil.
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computer classes Hardesty Regional Library
CLASSES ARE limited to 18 on a first-come, first-served basis. Really Basic PC Class Thursday, June 6 • 9:30-11 a.m. This class is designed for new PC users who have little or no experience using Windows, a mouse or the Internet, and little knowledge of basic computer terms. MS Excel 1 Tuesday, June 11 • 6-8 p.m. Learn how to create formulas, use automatic fill and change basic formatting. Introduction to Facebook Saturday, June 15 • 9:30-11 a.m. Learn how to set up an account, edit your profile, select privacy settings, and find and add friends. If you want to create a new Facebook account please have a working email address before class. MS Excel 2 Tuesday, June 18 • 6-8 p.m. Learn how to create and edit formulas, and apply functions and advanced formatting to your spreadsheets and workbooks. MS Excel 3 Tuesday, June 25 • 6-8 p.m. Learn how to create visual representations of spreadsheet and workbook data. Learn how to create charts, apply conditional formatting and control the appearance of printed spreadsheets. Internet @ the Library Saturday, June 29 • 9:30-11 a.m. Did you know that as a library cardholder you can access many specialized databases for free? Legal forms, maps, an auto repair reference center and magazine/newspaper archives are just a few of our "Deep Web" resources. We'll also share tips on how to search the online catalog successfully.
Martin Regional Library
CLASSES ARE LIMITED TO 12 ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS. MS Word 1 Saturday, June 22 • 10 a.m.-noon Learn how to create various kinds
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of documents; use the toolbar; set margins; apply spell check; and preview, save and print documents. MS Word 2 Saturday, June 29 • 10 a.m.-noon Learn how to create and format tables, use bulleted and numbered lists, and apply and format columns in a document.
clases de informática BIBLIOTECA REGIONAL MARTIN
Microsoft Word para Principiantes Viernes, 7 de junio • 10:15 a.m.-12 p.m. En esta clase te enseñaremos a usar el programa de Microsoft Word para formatear texto, escribir cartas y documentos. Para todas las edades. Correo Electrónico Viernes, 14 de junio • 10:15 a.m.-12 p.m. Les enseñaremos cómo crear una cuenta de correo electrónico y cómo usarla para enviar y recibir correo. Para todas las edades. Facebook I Viernes, 21 de junio • 10:15 a.m.-12 p.m. Explora el fenómeno social que es Facebook. Los participantes aprenderán cómo abrir una cuenta en Facebook, encontrar amigos y familiares, cómo controlar el contenido de su página y asegurar la privacidad de su información. Para todas las edades. Facebook II Viernes, 28 de junio • 10:15 a.m.-12 p.m . Esta clase es continuación de la anterior, practicaremos todo lo aprendido. Participantes deben de haber tomado la primera clase para poder asistir a ésta. Para todas las edades.
Rudisill Regional Library
For all ages. registration is Required. Class SIZES ARE limited. Call 918-549-7645 to register. Really Basic Computer Class Friday, June 7 • 9:30-11 a.m. This class is designed for new computer users who have little or no previous experience using computers, Windows, a mouse or the Internet, and little or no knowledge of basic computer terms. Introduction to MS Word 2007 Friday, June 14 • 9:30-11 a.m. Learn how to create various kinds of documents; use the toolbar; set margins; apply spell check; and preview, save and print documents.
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Internet @ the Library Friday, June 21 • 9:30-11 a.m. Learn how to navigate the World Wide Web and use the library’s online catalog and resources. Email 101 Friday, June 28 • 9:30-11 a.m. Learn how to set up a free account and how to use it to send and receive email.
children’s events Broken Arrow Library PAWS for Reading Wednesday, June 12 • 4-5 p.m. Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 7-12 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust. Seating is limited. Sign-ups will begin at 3:45 p.m. on the day of the event .
Collinsville Library Stories From the Rocking Chair Tuesdays, June 4, 11, 18, 25 10:30-11 a.m. • Join us for stories, songs, crafts and more. For newborns to 4-year-olds and their caregivers. PAWS for Reading Wednesday, June 19 • 3-4 p.m. Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 5-12 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust.
Jenks Library My First Storytime Wednesdays, June 5, 12, 19, 26 10-10:20 a.m. • For newborns to 2-year-olds and their caregivers. Preschool Storytime Wednesdays • 10:30-11 a.m. For ages 3-5. June 5 • Bugs June 12 • Bubbles of Fun! June 19 • At the Beach June 26 • The Desert PAWS for Reading Tuesday, June 18 • 4-5 p.m. Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 5-12 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust. Registration is required. Call 918-549-7570 to register.
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kendall-whittier Library Bilingual Storytime at the Health Department Thursday, June 6 • 9-9:30 a.m. Location: Health Department, 315 S. Utica Enjoy favorite stories in English and Spanish. For all ages.
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receive a free book provided by the Tulsa Library Trust.
Owasso Library Homeschool Storytime Tuesdays, June 4, 11, 18, 25 1:30-2:25 p.m. • Join us for stories and a craft. For ages 5-12.
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pratt Library
PAWS for Reading Saturday, June 15 • 2-3 p.m. Registered therapy dogs are excellent listeners. Kids ages 5-12 are invited to read their favorite books to a furry, four-pawed friend. Each reader will
Minicritters Petting Zoo Saturday, June 22 • 11 a.m.-noon Becky Benge and her adorable minicritters will be here to play with the children. Be ready to paint a minihorse and pet lots of other funny,
furry critters. Watch for a special little dressed up "Digger" who will give you a free book! For ages 5 and younger with an adult. Child-care groups, please call before attending. Seating is limited so we may refer you to another library.
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skiatook Library Preschool Storytime Thursdays • 11-11:40 a.m. Join us for stories, songs and rhymes. For ages 6 and younger. June 6 • Rockin' at the Library June 13 • Daddy and Papa Day June 20 • Summertime Stories June 27 • Author Day – Mo Willems
Free and Open to the Public If you are hearing-impaired and need a qualified interpreter, please call the library 48 hours in advance of the program. The Tulsa Book Review and Tulsa City-County Library Event Guide are printed on partially recycled paper.
tulsa city-county library locations 1 Bixby Library 20 E. Breckenridge, 74008 • 918-549-7514 M, 10-8; T-Th, 12-8; Fri., 12-6; Sat., 10-5 2 Broken Arrow Library 300 W. Broadway, 74012 • 918-549-7500 M-Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 10-5 3 Broken Arrow Library/South 3600 S. Chestnut, 74011 • 918-549-7662 M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 4 Brookside Library 1207 E. 45th Place, 74105 • 918-549-7507 M-Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 10-5 5 Central Library and American Indian Resource Center 400 Civic Center, 74103 • 918-549-7323 M-Th, 9-9; Fri.-Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5, Sept.-May 6 Charles Page Library 551 E. Fourth St., Sand Springs, 74063 918-549-7521 • M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 7 Collinsville Library 1223 Main, 74021 • 918-549-7528 M-Th, 12-8; Fri., 12-5; Sat., 10-5 8 Genealogy Center 2901 S. Harvard, 74114 • 918-549-7691 M-W, 10-5; Th, 1-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 9 Glenpool Library 730 E. 141st St., 74033 • 918-549-7535 M-Th, 12-8; Fri., 12-5; Sat., 10-5 10 Hardesty Regional Library and Connor’s Cove 8316 E. 93rd St., 74133 • 918-549-7550 M-Th, 9-9; Fri., 9-6; Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5 11 Helmerich Library 5131 E. 91st St., 74137 • 918-549-7631 M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 12 Herman and Kate Kaiser Library 5202 S. Hudson Ave., Suite B, 74135 918-549-7542 • M-Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 10-5 13 Jenks Library 523 W. B St., 74037 • 918-549-7570 M-T, 12-8; W-Th, 10-6; Fri., 12-5; Sat., 10-5
14 Judy Z. Kishner Library 10150 N. Cincinnati Ave. E., Sperry 74073 • 918-549-7577 M-T, 12-7; W, 10-5; Th, 12-7; Fri., 12-5; Sat., 10-5 15 Kendall-Whittier Library 21 S. Lewis, 74104 • 918-549-7584 M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 16 Martin Regional Library and Hispanic Resource Center 2601 S. Garnett Road, 74129 • 918-549-7590 M-Th, 9-9; Fri., 9-6; Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5 17 Maxwell Park Library 1313 N. Canton, 74115 • 918-549-7610 M-F, 10-6; Sat., 10-5 18 Nathan Hale Library 6038 E. 23rd St., 74114 • 918-549-7617 M, 10-8; T-Th, 10-6; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 19 Owasso Library 103 W. Broadway, 74055 • 918-549-7624 M-Th, 10-8; Fri., 10-6; Sat., 10-5 20 Pratt Library 3219 S. 113th W. Ave., Sand Springs, 74063 • 918-549-7638 M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 21 Rudisill Regional Library and African-American Resource Center 1520 N. Hartford, 74106 • 918-549-7645 M-Th, 9-9; Fri.-Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5 22 Schusterman-Benson Library 3333 E. 32nd Place, 74135 • 918-549-7670 M-Th, 10-8; Fri.-Sat., 10-5 23 Skiatook Library 316 E. Rogers, 74070 • 918-549-7676 M, 12-8; T-Th, 10-6; Fri.-Sat., 11-5 24 Suburban Acres Library 4606 N. Garrison, 74126 • 918-549-7655 M-Th, 10-6; Fri.-Sat., 11-5 25 Zarrow Regional Library 2224 W. 51st St., 74107 918-549-7683 M-Th, 9-9; Fri.-Sat., 9-5; Sun., 1-5
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The Tulsa City-County Library Event Guide is produced by the Public Relations Office of the Tulsa City-County Library. For questions or concerns, call 918-549-7389.
Book Reviews Category
Picture Books SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
One Gorilla: A Counting Book By Anthony Browne Candlewick, $16.99, 32 pages Check this out! How many chimpanzees do you see? How many gibbons? Lemurs? Baboons? Practice counting from one to ten with Anthony Browne’s beautifully illustrated new book One Gorilla. Ten distinct kinds of primates are featured in these gorgeous, full-page illustrations, eleven if you include the delightfully diverse two-page spread of humans. Who knew there were so many kinds of monkeys in the world? The only way this book could be better would be if it counted to twenty, or even higher; Browne’s depictions of other species would surely be just as enjoyable to look at! Children will love the pictures and practicing their numbers, while adults will enjoy showing their little ones some of their favorite animals from the zoo. And parents will likely appreciate the eloquent message of unity at the end of the book, a message that cannot be expressed often enough. You won’t find much in the way of new vocabulary in these pages, but don’t be surprised if your children bring this one back to you again and again and again. Reviewed by Holly Scudero The Frazzle Family Finds a Way By Ann Bonwill, Stephen Gammell (illustrator) Holiday House, $16.95, 32 pages Check this out! The Frazzles are a terribly forgetful family. They forget to wear coats when it’s cold and forget to use sunscreen when it’s sunny. When it’s time for school, the Frazzle children forget they aren’t on vacation any more. Even their dog forgets where he has hidden his bone. At the grocery store, they forget what they need to buy and end up with nothing but eggs, lots and lots of eggs. And
they even forget Grandpa in the frozen food section. They finally decide that they have to do something about all their forgetting, so they invite Aunt Rosemary to come. She is organized and has lots of good ideas. She makes schedules and lists for everyone, but the Frazzles are so forgetful that they forget to take the lists or look at the schedules. Aunt Rosemary ties strings around the Frazzle family fingers to remind them of things they should remember, but that doesn’t work either. Aunt Rosemary soaks in a tub and sings. This gives little Annie Frazzle the idea that just might solve the Frazzle family problem. Kids will love Ann Bonwill’s funny, alliterative story and the bright, silly illustrations by Stephen Gammel complete this perfect book. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
spots a teddy bear that would be perfect for her brother’s birthday gift, but before she can reach it, a girl picks it up and walks away without even acknowledging Mary’s polite protest. Then she sees a fluffy duck on a top shelf, but before she can get her mother’s attention to get it down, it’s gone. Mary is too polite to sulk or make a scene, but she is very disappointed. Then she spots the perfect thing, but will she be able to get this one? Shirin Yim Bridges writes a sweet story, but the real strength of this book is the enchanting illustrations by Maria Monescillo. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Miss Maple’s Seeds By Eliza Wheeler Nancy Paulsen Books, $16.99, 32 pages Check this out! Miss Maple lives in a maple tree, and her life’s work is to find and save orphan seeds lost during the spring planting season. She begins in August, collecting orphan seeds and, with the help of her friends the birds, brings the seeds to
Mary Wrightly, So Politely By Shirin Yim Bridges, Maria Monescillo (illustrator) Harcourt Children’s Books, $16.99, 32 pages Check this out! M a r y Wrightly is a very polite young lady. She always says polite words such as “please” and “thank you so much” in a very polite and quiet voice. When her mother announces her brother’s first birthday is coming up, she tells Mary they will go shopping together so Mary can choose a birthday gift for her brother. On the bus, Mary politely gives her seat to an old woman. At the very crowded store, they run into their neighbor. While Mother and the neighbor talk, Mary Tulsa Book Review • June 2013 • 9
her home. She cleans the seeds and teaches them about being seeds. Her hope is to help the seeds be strong enough for spring planting season. She teaches them how they will each be carried – by wind or water – to the places they will grow. She warns them of weedy characters and reads them flower tales at night. Neighborhood creatures join Miss Maple and the seeds for the long winter, and they pass the time with songs and stories. At last, spring rains begin. Miss Maple teaches the seeds to dance and burrow into the ground. In May, it is time for Miss Maple to send all the seeds on journeys. She has taught them what they need to know to start the next stage of their lives. Eliza Wheeler both writes and illustrates this enchanting story. The story is sweet and original. The art work is charming and magical. Children and adults will love this book. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
Book Reviews
, CHILDREN S NONFICTION Category
Kids’ Books SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
World Rat Day: Poems About Real Holidays You’ve Never Heard Of By J. Patrick Lewis, Anna Raff (llustrator) Candlewick, $15.99, 40 pages Check this out! Holidays have been designated for all kinds of things and some are pretty interesting. Did you know there is a National Sloth Day or International Cephalopod Awareness Day or Bulldogs are Beautiful Day or Bat Appreciation Day? There is even a Yell “Fudge” at the Cobras in North America Day. It is a bit of a wonder who could have come up with such a plethora of ideas. J. Patrick Lewis is the current Children’s Poet Laureate. He has chosen some pretty silly holidays and written poems in honor of those days. All of them have to do with animals, real as well as from fantasy, and the subject of animals is of unending fascination for kids. The poems are clever and funny, some as short as one line and none longer than a minute, so even very young readers will find things to like. Illustrator Anna Raff also has a great sense of humor, and that is shown throughout this charming picture book with her bold drawings. Kids will see something new each time they read the book in these inventive illustrations. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Barry’s Best Buddy (Toon) By Renee French Toon Books, $12.95, 32 pages Check this out! Barry’s best buddy, Polarhog, rousts him out of bed with promises of a surprise and proceeds to guide Barry on a long walk through the woods. While Polarhog overflows with en-
thusiasm, Barry would prefer to continue his nap. Barry remains steadfastly unimpressed as Polarhog fits him with a hat, buys him ice cream, and offers him a meatball. Finally the friends return to Barry’s house to find a wonderful, colorful surprise. Barry’s Best Buddy is part of series called Toon into Reading. Designed for beginning readers, the book consists of short sentences and detailed art work. The illustrations do most of the story telling, which allows even the youngest readers to deduce the story. The character’s expressions speak volumes, and bizarre details—a flamingo peeking through the tree line, for example—inspire the reader to keep searching for more. My three-year-old and I were particularly intrigued by the ants traveling through the foreground with various art supplies and craft items. What were the ants doing? Barry’s Best Buddy kept us guessing while we laughed at Polarhog’s random antics. Reviewed by Tammy McCartney Deadly!: The Truth About the Most Dangerous Creatures on Earth By Nicola Davies, Neal Layton (illustrator) Candlewick, $14.99, 64 pages Check this out! Flip on the TV almost any time of the day or night, and one can find shows about killing in a wide variety of ways. If the channel chosen happens to be Animal Planet or National Geographic, the killing going on just might echo what will be found in this book. Many of the ways man has found to dispatch his enemies are found in the animal kingdom: stabbing, slashing, poisoning, drowning, dive-bombing, electrocution, and gluing (death by gluing?) can be discovered in the world of animals. Large sections on cats and dogs are followed by smaller sections on snakes, birds, water animals, and others. The book examines the good that can come from some of these strange and deadly creatures and how people can See Deadly!, cont’d on page 11
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COMING SOON
Search the library’s catalog at http://tulsalibrary.org to reserve your copies now.
Miracle Mud: Lena Blackburne and the Secret Mud That Changed Baseball by David A. Kelly
Traces the invention of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud by longtime baseball fan, player and coach Russell Aubrey “Lena” Blackburne, describing how his distaste for the methods used by players to break in baseballs prompted his creation and how, for more than 75 years, teams have been using the Hall of Fame-noted product to prepare baseballs before every game.
The Beatles Were Fab (And They Were Funny) by Kathleen Krull
Q: How do you find all this business of having screaming girls following you all over the place? George: Well, we feel flattered … John: … and flattened. When the Beatles burst onto the music scene in the early 1960s, they were just four unknown lads from Liverpool. But soon their off-the-charts talent and offbeat humor made them the most famous band on both sides of the Atlantic. Lively, informative text and expressive, quirky paintings chronicle the phenomenal rise of Beatlemania, showing how the Fab Four’s sense of humor helped the lads weather everything that was thrown their way including jelly beans.
The Mystery of Darwin’s Frog: A True Story of Scientific Discovery
by Marty Crump A frog packed with tadpoles! How could that be? No one had ever seen this species before, and they had certainly never seen a frog full of polliwogs. This is the story of a frog that stumped scientists for decades. This fascinating tale of scientific discovery chronicles how we know what we know about the exotic Darwin’s frog, including the surprising discovery that the male broods the tadpoles in his vocal sac, and it details the creation of a program to protect the species from a deadly fungus.
Sports Illustrated Kids Big Book of Why by Joseph Levit
Why are three goals called a hat trick? Why is “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” sung during the seventh-inning stretch? Why don’t the Cleveland Browns have a logo on their helmet? Why do golf balls have dimples? Why do Olympic swimmers flip when they turn at the end of the pool? Divided into four levels of difficulty – professional, All Star, MVP and Hall of Fame – each answer is provided not only with an in-depth explanation on the science, history or origin of the particular subject matter, but with photos and illustrations that help make the information easy to digest. A must-have book for any curious young sports fan, the dynamic content is distinctly Sports Illustrated Kids in the way it entertains as it informs, focusing on the fun kids derive from their enjoyment of sports and presenting big, exciting action photos from the Sports Illustrated collection. A four-part interactive quiz at the back of the book invites readers to find the biggest adult sports fans they know and attempt to stump them with the fascinating insider knowledge the book provides.
Myths Busted! Just When You Thought You Knew What You Knew... by Emily Krieger
Did you know fortune cookies aren’t even found in China? Or that alligators don’t actually live in the sewers of New York City? Want to prove it to your friends? This book gives kids the tools to break and bust wild and wacky myths from around the world. These myths reveal a broad range of historical and scientific truths that keep kids learning while interacting with their favorite fictional “facts.”
Book Reviews Category
Teen Scene SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Darius & Twig By Walter Dean Myers Amistad, $17.99, 208 pages Check this out! Darius and Twig are best friends. Both have dreams, but Twig works at his every day. Darius thinks about his every day, but he’s not so sure if he really has a chance. Both live in Harlem and have incomplete families. Both are surrounded by people who have given up their dreams, if they ever had any. Both are faced with evidence that the odds are stacked well against them. But both keep on keeping on. Twig is a runner, a really excellent runner, and that might be enough to give him a chance for a fresh start somewhere else, but Twig isn’t sure it’s for him. Darius pushes and prods his friend, knowing if Darius can’t get out of the neighborhood, he wants Twig to make it out. Darius is a writer, one with promise, who is having trouble getting to the next step with his writing. He has had some encouragement, but is it enough to get him where he needs to be? Nobody in young adult literature is better at giving a very real picture of life in the ‘hood and how hard it is to prevail. Teens will like this one! Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Not Exactly a Love Story By Audrey Couloumbis Random House Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 288 pages Check this out! The year is 1977 and fifteen-year-old Vinnie has enough on his plate without adding the drama of his parents’ divorce or the shock of his mother’s immediate remarriage. Forced to move with his mom and stepdad, he must start over at a new school and learn to balance the separate lives of his parents.
But switching schools does have its advantages. He can be whoever he wants to be, and he is immediately drawn to Patsy; the only problem is, she doesn’t even know he exists. Luckily her phone number falls right into his lap and he is unable to resist the urge to call her anonymously. They begin having daily conversations and his charming and confident alter ego, Vincenzo takes over. But who will get the girl in the end--Vinnie or Vincenzo? Couloumbus created a refreshing novel that realistically depicts the awkward emotions and challenges of a teen going through the life-altering event of divorce. Hilariously honest at times and hopelessly romantic at others, Vinnie is an irresistibly lovable main character. As everybody must, Vinnie has to figure out who he is and where he fits in, which is a universally relatable dilemma everyone is faced with. Without the noise of computers or cell phones, the 1970s was the perfect backdrop for the love story of Vinnie and Patsy. I loved the book and could easily pick it up again for a second or third reading. Reviewed by Amanda Roelofs Hysteria By Megan Miranda Walker Childrens, $17.99, 336 pages Check this out! Hysteria starts off with a teenage girl named Mallory, who is still having nightmares after killing her boyfriend, Brian. But more than just the nightmares, Mallory can’t seem to remember exactly what happened. Her mind has blocked it out and now she’s being stalked by her dead boyfriend’s mother. Her parents decide that the best thing for her would be to get a fresh start, so they send her to a boarding school. Odd things begin to happen at Monroe, but are
these events really happening or are they just in Mallory’s head??Megan Miranda does a wonderful job with her characters. Although Hysteria is told from M a l lor y ’s POV, I felt like I really saw them clearly even when Mallory didn’t. My favorite characters were Reid and Colleen because they were unwavering in their support for Mallory even when she was doubtful. My only complaint was the pacing, but I think that mostly it was just me…I tend to be a bit impatient and I wanted to know what really happened NOW!?Hysteria is a psychological thriller that will keep you guessing and at the edge of your seat until the very end. Reviewed by Patricia Mendoza If I Should Die (Revenants) By Amy Plum HarperTeen, $17.99, 320 pages Check this out!
If I Should Die picks up right where Until I Die left off with Vincent kidnapped in preparation to kill him and possess the power of the Champion. The revenants are now actively at war with the Numa after Violette’s betrayal and Kate must find a way to save Vincent before Violette can absorb the Champion’s power and become unstoppable. It’s not often one finds a trilogy in which every single book is a joy to read. If I Should Die is an exhilarating story with twists and turns, action and romance. Kate again proves herself as a strong heroine who is able to hold her own against everything that is thrown at her. Readers who were agonizing at the cliffhanger at the end of Until I Die will be chewing their fingernails waiting to see if Kate will find a way to rescue Vincent in time. Plum gives us a deeper look into the world of the revenants, numa and guerisseur which is fascinating. Favorite characters like Jules and Georgia are back and readers see the return of others like Charles and Charlotte, all of this tying up into a satisfying end to the series. Reviewed by Debbie Suzuki
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The Runaway King By Jennifer A. Nielsen Scholastic Press, $17.99, 352 pages Check this out! After four years of being in hiding and away from his family, Jaron has now been confirmed as the real prince and rightful inheritor of the throne of Carthya. But his troubles are far from being behind him. There are dangers from all sides, including threats to his kingdom from a neighboring country as well as from the very same pirates who were hired to kill him four years earlier. When he fights off an assassination attempt at the beginning of the story, Jaron must make the difficult decision to flee the castle and go face the threats himself. It seems essentially an impossible job to defeat the pirates and neither readers nor Jaron knows how he’ll make it happen. But he must, to save Carthya. The Runaway King is a great sequel to The False Prince and an excellent middle book in a series. Those can sometimes be tricky considering their very nature. But this book has nonstop action, fine character development, and a satisfactory “conclusion” for this part of the story. Middle-grade readers will surely enjoy this series, and even older readers should appreciate it. Reviewed by Cathy Carmode Lim
Deadly!, cont’d from pg 10 and do coexist with them. This deceptively small picture book is jam-packed with fascinating information with plenty of the ick factor to keeps kids (and adults) turning the pages. The fun illustrations are a real bonus and suit the writing to a T. All kids will love this book, but it will be an especially big hit with the boys. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
Book Reviews Category
Science Fiction
Category
Fantasy SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince By Robin Hobb, Jodi Foster Subterranean, $35.00, 184 pages Check this out! The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince by Robin Hobb is a delightfully hard-edged fairy story which speaks words of truth to future ge ne r at ion s of a princess and her son. When the princess is born, she’s paired with a plain girl of modest intelligence as a companion. Because this girl is submissive and wholly accommodating, she’s soon the only one who can influence the Princess. This is the story as told by her, both in her own words and recording the oral history passed on to her by her son. It tells of the princess who makes decisions based on her capricious heart and not out of the usual political expediency. This leads to the birth of a son out of wedlock and complications for the succession. The result is one of these predictable tragedies as passions are stirred up and jealousy reigns. The question, of course, is what role is left for “truth”? For the immediate times, truth is controlled by the victors and what our old lady has to say would be highly inconvenient. But later generations might benefit from understanding how the situation devolved into this mess. So these two manuscripts are left to be found. Reviewed by David Marshall
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place. So when a mysterious woman specifically seeks the duo out to hire them for a job, Rodrick and Hrym readily accept. Travel to an ancient location in the cold northern lands and recover an ancient artifact for a priest? Sounds like a good opportunity to accept a rich reward and steal the artifact too! But as the journey progresses, the situation becomes decidedly... odd. Rodrick’s benefactors change their story too frequently, and something just doesn’t add up. This quest just might test where the duo’s morals really lie. Like all of the novels in the Pathfinder Tales series, Liar’s Blade is all kinds of fun. The main character is a scoundrel, pure and simple, and readers will love him. His mysterious sword is an interesting twist, and the two of them interacting with one another is one of the best parts of this book. For a well-written standalone fantasy novel, pick up Liar’s Blade; you won’t be disappointed! Reviewed by Holly Scudero
The Departure (The Owner, Book One) By Neal Asher Night Shade Books, $15.99, 412 pages As overpopulation chokes vital resources and condemns millions to starvation, virtually all human rights have been ceded to the Committee, a staggering bureaucracy as ruthless as it is ponderous. As the Committee cuts all ties with Mars and prepares to cull the population of Earth with laser satellites, a single man rises to stand in its way: Alan Saul. Tortured and left for dead, missing his memory and armed with an impressive AI program, Alan wants revenge on the bureaucrat who ruined his life, and noth-
Pathfinder Tales: Liar’s Blade By Tim Pratt Paizo Publishing, LLC., $9.99, 400 pages Rodrick is a rogue in every sense of the word: he is smart, witty, charming, and above all self-serving. Together with his magical talking sword, called Hrym, Rodrick spends his days taking on quests that serve to line his pockets with gold, especially if he can con those who hired him in the first Tulsa Book Review • June 2013 • 12
ing will deter him, even the Committee’s vast resources. Asher has assembled a perfect mélange of classic sci-fi tropes – overp o pu l at ion , gover n ment See Departure, cont’d on page 15
Book Reviews Category
Historical Fiction SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Queen Jezebel: A Catherine de’ Medici Novel By Jean Plaidy Touchstone, $16.00, 464 pages Beautiful Princess Ma rg uer ite is deeply in love, but she’s about to be married to a man she cares nothing for. Despite her undying love for the Duke of Guise, her mother, Catherine de’Medici, has arranged a significant marriage for Catholic Princess Marguerite to Huguenot King Henry of Navarre. The hope is to bring peace to France and end the violence between the Huguenots and Catholics that has plagued the nation. The grand wedding doesn’t bring about the desired results. Scheming Catherine de’Medici must come up with another plan in order to retain her power; she convinces her son that his Huguenot brother-in-law plans to have him assassinated. A bloody crusade of religious cleansing begins, King Charles hell bent on ridding France of Huguenots forever. Years of bloodshed and violence begin, ending in great upheavel and the death of kings. Yet one thing remains constant: the scheming plots and wicked ways of Catherine de‘Medici. On her deathbed, she contemplates her life: “She had worshiped no god; she had worshiped power. She had no religion and no desire for eternal life. She had one great wish—to rule France through her children; and this had, in large measure, been granted her.” The final de‘Medici book in Jean Plaidy’s trilogy, Queen Jezebel is a powerful and beautifully written novel brimming with history, intrigue, and romance. The French court under Catherine de’Medici was a
deadly place to live. Plaidy makes her readers feel as if they’re standing right there in the French court, nervous to see what happens next under the rule of one of history’s most tyrannical mothers. Reviewed by Jennifer Melville Orphan Train: A Novel By Christina Baker Kline William Morrow Paperbacks, $14.99, 304 pages Check this out! Molly is seventeen and has spent far too much of her short life in foster homes – many of them. When she is caught stealing a book from the library, she is given fifty hours of community service. Her boyfriend helps her find an assignment helping a ninety-oneyear-old woman, Vivian, sort through her attic. But her attic holds much more than expected. It holds her life story, and Molly is swept up in that story because there are surprising parallels to her own. This unlikely pair discovers much about each other, but perhaps much more about themselves, as they sort through and talk about the detritus of Vivian’s life. Vivian lost her entire family shortly after immigrating to America from Ireland. All she has left from her time as a nine-year-old orphan is a silver Celtic cross on a chain. She, along with a multitude of other orphans, is taken on a train to the mid-west where each is placed with families. Some of those placements are horror stories, but Vivian is a survivor. Christina Baker Kline weaves a most compelling tale based on happenings long forgotten. Her fine research makes this story feel absolutely authentic, and her writing is gorgeous. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
A Spear of Summer Grass By Deanna Raybourn Harlequin MIRA, $15.95, 384 pages Check this out! Delilah Dr ummond is a 1920s socialite, the talk of the town in whatever town she happens to currently live in, whether it’s Paris or New Orleans. But when her most recent husband dies of suicide and leaves a set of priceless family jewels to her, Delilah finds herself in a bit of hot water; on the advice of her family and her lawyer, Delilah sets off for her ex-stepfather’s estate in Africa, where she will pass the time until the press forgets this latest scandal. But she never expected to fall in love with this wild country, or the people in it. Delilah finds herself befriending the rest of white society in Kenya, and the natives as well. And when her lover is murdered and
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the authorities are set on pinning the crime on a Masai man whom she considers to be a good friend, Delilah finds herself entangled in yet another scandal. Deanna Raybourn ventures away from her beloved mysteries and into a new world with A Spear of Summer Grass. Delilah is the kind of woman most of us wish we could be: smart, capable, and firmly in control of her own destiny, not to mention gorgeous. She may not always be the most likeable of characters, but you’ll still find yourself rooting for her as she thwarts the “bad” guys and comes to terms with herself and her own spotty past. Fall in love with this novel! Reviewed by Holly Scudero
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Book Reviews Category
Biography & Memoir SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Saturday Night Widows: The Adventures of Six Friends Remaking Their Lives By Becky Aikman Crown, $26.00, 352 pages Check this out! Saturday Night Widows by Becky Aikman is a true story based on the author’s experience as a young widow. Soon after losing her first husband to cancer and being “kicked out” of a widows’ support group, Aikman decided to start a support group of her own design. The novel recounts the year the author shared with five other young widows as they gathered once a month to support each other as they navigated their new life circumstances. I enjoyed this book, found it to be enlightening with regard to the author’s research and findings on grief, and would suggest it to others in similar circumstances. It is well written and colorfully descriptive. I was somewhat disappointed that I felt unable to connect with all of the support group members, but the story is told in the first person which in all likelihood would account for that impression. I would not be surprised if the novel provides the impetus for Saturday Night Widows groups forming worldwide. It’s a great concept! Reviewed by Diane Ledet Saul Bellow’s Heart: A Son’s Memoir By Greg Bellow Bloomsbury, $26.00, 240 pages Check this out! Saul Bellow’s accomplishments stand out in literary circles, but Saul Bellow was most times unknown. His son Greg shares in this memoir the man that not even his younger children by later marriages knew. “Among the myriad ways Saul protected his privacy was an almost complete refusal to reflect aloud upon
his inner life. He abetted this lack of transparency by giving ambiguous answers to personal questions or by offering parabolic stories with meanings that could be extracted by a perceptive listener or reader.” Greg describes his father as two men. “Young Saul” was “emotionally accessible, often soft, and possessed the ability to laugh at the world’s folly and at himself.” This was the foundation of the bond between this father and son. “Old Saul” was one whose “ social views hardened, although he was fundamentally, no less vulnerable. The earlier tolerance for opposing viewpoints all but disappeared, as did his ability to laugh at himself…” As Saul aged, Greg found those changes eroding the common ground they had shared. Readers meet Saul Bellows in his son’s reflection. It shares many private insights to the famed writer, as well as his son’s views on many of his famous literary works. Reviewed by Angie Mangino Stranger Here: How Weight-Loss Surgery Transformed My Body and Messed With My Head By Jen Larsen Seal Press, $16.00, 280 pages Check this out! Stranger Here is equal parts brutally honest personal memoir and stinging critique of societal opinions on size and the weight loss surgery industry that has sprung up as a result. At over 300 hundred pounds, Jen Larson was waiting for the moment her life would start. As soon as she was skinny, she would be able to be and do everything she had ever dreamed. Tired of waiting, she decides the solution to all her problems is weight loss surgery. But she quickly learns that some things can’t be fixed by surgeons,
and the path to the person she wants to be might be a little bit rockier than she had anticipated. A lt ho u g h the subject matter is not always light hearted, Jen Larson has a way of letting you laugh with her without ever trivializing her experiences or their implications. In the end, the overall message is one of self-acceptance and empowerment. While I’m sorry that anyone would ever have to deal with the issues of self worth, I’m so happy that Jen Larson was brave enough to open herself up and share her story — a story shared by millions of Americans. This book is amazing! Reviewed by Megan Rynott Square Peg By Todd Rose with Katherine Ellison Hyperion, $26.99, 256 pages Check this out! If success early in life deter mines your outcome, L. Todd Rose wouldn’t have had a story to write. In the seventh grade, Rose was suspended for throwing stink bombs in school. By eighteen, he was a high school drop-out. Square Peg is an honest story that will resonate with the parents of millions of intelligent American children whose one-size-fits-all schools are failing to help them succeed. Unlike many of the misunderstood, mislabeled “troublemakers” who drop out annually, Rose went on to complete his education and become a faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Rose does a phenomenal job bringing to light a huge problem in our school system and suggests many ways in which embracing variability can turn dropouts into the innovators of the future. As the parent of a “square peg,” this book spoke to me on a deeply personal level. I saw my own son in Rose’s story and reading his tale helped me to better understand my child. I love his idea of variability in education, meaning teaching individuals rather than teaching to the average. I found Rose’s story absolutely inspiring and hope to implement his lessons into my son’s educa-
Tulsa Book Review • June 2013 • 14
tion. Rather than labeling him as “difficult,” Rose has helped me to see him as different but smart and totally capable of innovation. This book has a lot to offer parents and educators alike. Reviewed by Jennifer Melville The Secretary: A Journey With Hillary Clinton From Beirut to the Heart of American Power By Kim Ghattas Times Books, $27.00, 368 pages Check this out! If you thought you understood the events of the four years Hillary Clinton served as Secretary of State, you were wrong. The Secretary: A Journey with Hillary Clinton from Beirut to the Heart of American Power is the ultimate inside look at one of America’s most polarizing figures, during an equally polarizing period in the country’s history. Part political biography, foreign policy narrative, and personal memoir, The Secretary combines all the best aspects of these genres into a wonderfully complex story of nations and the people who run them. Growing up in Beirut, Kim Ghattas never imagined one day getting to see how American foreign policy was developed. In 2008, she got the chance when she became a part of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s traveling press corps.This book is as much about Ghattas as it is about Clinton. Her unique insight afforded to her by her background, coupled with her unfettered access and numerous interviews provide the reader with a rich and completely new perspective on a politician they thought they knew. Educational, emotional, and surprisingly entertaining, The Secretary is a must-read in 2013. Reviewed by Megan Rynott Parenting: Illustrated With Crappy Pictures By Amber Dusick Harlequin, $16.95, 214 pages Check this out! Amber Dusick has a way with storytelling. She freely admits that her drawings are crappy—the word is right in the title of her well-loved blog and new book of the same name, Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures. And her words are simple, straightforward, spinning tales and recounting recent happenings with little extraneous embellishment. And yet, perhaps it is just this combination, with a dash of Dusick’s cynical
Book Reviews humor mixed in, that makes ever ything she writes resonate so strongly with parents everywhere. In her book, Dusick delves into a wide variety of topics. She starts off with a humorous set of comparisons between life before and after having kids. Every busy mother will identify with her portrayal of what it is like to take a bath with kids in the house! She tackles the topic of sleep, and how moms often get the short end of the stick there; the section titled “What it was like to (not) sleep at night” is possibly one of my favorites in the book, and that’s saying a lot. She discusses eating – the joys of nursing an active baby, chipmunk cheeks, dinnertime, and more! There are sections on traveling with kids, language development, and an entire chapter devoted to a subject that all parents are obsessed with to a certain degree, especially when they are new to the gig: poop. Yes, with just enough immaturity to be funny but not so much as to turn off those of us who pretend to be above that sort of “potty talk,” she quite literally delves into diapers, with humorous anecdotes that we can all relate to and just enough cuteness to melt our hearts. Lest you think that the entire book is devoted to dirty diapers and lack of sleep, Dusick devotes an entire chapter to what she calls “The Good Stuff.” The entire book will make you smile, and if you’re like me, various parts will make you a little teary. This was the chapter that really got me. No matter how frustrating kids can be at times, little stories like these remind us why we wanted to procreate in the first place. And I, the reader, ate it all up. Every page, every last picture, over the course of one of my own baby’s too-short naps. Well, not literally ate, but you know what I mean. Much like her blog does with every new update, Dusick’s book had me giggling out loud with great frequency. I love her pictures; her stick-figure renditions of her crappy family (her words, not mine) are still somehow a million times better than anything I could create. Her stories do a perfect job capturing all of the many things that make up parenting. And the combination of everything in this book will brighten your day immeasurably. Don’t be surprised if you read this book through in one sitting (assuming your kids let you read anything for any kind of unbroken stretch), and then feel disappointed that it’s over. I know I’m not the only one fervently hoping that Dusick writes another one for us in the near future! Reviewed by Holly Scudero
Biography & Memoir Pain, Parties, Work: Sylvia Plath in New York, Summer 1953 By Elizabeth Winder Harper, $25.99, 288 pages Check this out! Fans of Sylvia Plath already know that the summer of 1953 was a pivotal one for her. She stayed in New York for a few weeks as one of twenty guest editors at Mademoiselle. The glamour and stress of this time triggered something in her, and, upon returning home, she suffered a traumatic breakdown resulting in attempted suicide. Though disturbing in both subtle and painful ways, this summer led to beauty; Plath fictionalized her experiences, from New York through her recovery, in her only novel, The Bell Jar. Thus, fans are most familiar with the altered version of the story that Plath wanted to share with the world. Elizabeth Winder reveals the true story. Pulling from Sylvia’s journals and personal interviews with the other nineteen guest editors, Winder carefully recreates those muggy weeks in the city that strained Sylvia to the point of instability. She does more than that, however. She also tells about Sylvia before and after New York, allowing us to see not only the immediate changes wrought by the city but the longer-lasting and less painful alterations as well. Each chapter begins with a quote, and one of the early chapters starts with one of the other guest editors remarking that “We were all already the personalities we would grow up to be.” Winder then carefully shows us that this was not the case for our protagonist. The experience took the seed of a woman obsessed with perfection and allowed her to blossom into a woman just as driven and opinionated but inherently less concerned with the opinions of others. New York began a painful and trying time, but that time ultimately freed Sylvia to do as she pleased, to be whom she pleased. Winder is painstakingly detailed in her description of the events that brought about this important change. She describes specific outfits Sylvia wore, and she repeatedly refers to the future poet’s red red lipstick. Sylvia was quite fashion obsessed, and, in order to portray that aspect of her subject, Winder adopts the trait. She lovingly describes the clothing Sylvia bought to prepare for her trip, and the book is rife with descriptions of colors and fabric. This helps create a vivid sense of both Sylvia’s day-to-day life and her priorities.
Winder has published books of poetry herself, and it is perhaps most appropriate for a poet to write about a poet. Winder’s prose is beautiful, thoughtful, and chaotic. The narrative pulsates and flows with the rhythm of memory, breaking off in the middle of a story to tell of something tangential and somehow connecting the pieces to create something more alive and more complete than a linear telling of the story could ever be. Through her twisting and enchanting words, Winder brings the early 1950s to life, addressing the various social norms that pushed and pulled on young Sylvia. We are ultimately left with an all-around beautiful and spectacular description of the mind and stories of a poet told in such a way that the reader is never isolated but is rather brought into the chaotic and passionate world of Plath. The lush and emotional account leaves us with the impression of someone possessing an especially dazzling and insistent spark of life, a person whose very essence is brighter and more demanding (of the world and of herself) than are most. This is a fitting tribute to the tumultuous life of Plath, and, while it never glorifies the artist, openly discussing her flaws, it does reveal that she was someone special. This book is perfect
Tulsa Book Review • June 2013 • 15
for anyone even vaguely interested in Sylvia Plath, America in the 1950s, everyday feminism, or strikingly beautiful biographical writing. I will be returning to this volume for a very long time. Reviewed by Audrey Curtis
Departure, cont’d from pg 12 oppression, human-machine hybridization, the definition of humanity, revolution vs. terrorism – and still manages to create something that feels vibrant and fresh and utterly dangerous. Alan is an engaging and horrifying protagonist, one you can’t tear your eyes from. The Departure jumps between Alan’s mission on Earth and the growing chaos on Mars, offering two striking variations on what it takes to survive in this universe. Admittedly, he spends far less time on Mars, and the b-plot suffers for it. Nonetheless, this book remains both an outstanding scifi effort and an impressive launchpad for stories to come. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas
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Nature & Science
The book does not issue a play-by-play account of Euclid’s Elements; instead, Berlinski takes you on a journey through the mind of a genius, revealing his true stature within the profound bounds of mathematical logic. He does so with style and wit beyond what an ordinary scholar should say. If you want to feel the magic that an American philosopher, educator, and author can deliver, then you must provide yourself with an ample amount of time to digest this historical achievement. Reviewed by D. Wayne Dworsky
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The King of Infinite Space: Euclid and His Elements By David Berlinski Basic Books, $24.00, 192 pages Check this out! What amazes me about Euclid is that not only did he compose all the postulates and theorems that define Euclidian Geometry, but he literally invented geometry. This effort also includes all the definitions that make these postulates and theorems possible. How on Earth did he do it? The man who explains this is none other than the incredible David Berlinski who holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University.
His touching, superlative mental adventure tantalizes the reader’s wit and produces an intense drive of thought. He takes the seemingly obvious and manages to ferret out the fodder and find the roots of a thought.
Craving: Why We Can’t Seem to Get Enough By Omar Manejwala Hazelden, $14.95, 220 pages Why do we have cravings for things that can destroy us? The latest research, including brain imaging studies, shows the biological basis for our cravings and what happens when we do or don’t indulge them. Dr. Manejwala, an expert in the field of addiction recovery, points out that all addicts experience cravings, but there is hope to become free of them. First he exposes the ways those struggling with addictions deceive themselves to justify giving in to their selfdestructive behaviors. He also provides psy-
chological research that shows how we tend to think we are immune from temptation, or how we think we can change without changing our habits, or how the small choices we make don’t really matter. He clearly shows that they do. He also offers plans for recovery. Based on his years of experience with hundreds of patients, he highly recommends the Twelve Step programs and important aspects like personal spirituality, interpersonal accountability, emotional healing and increased service. By changing our thoughts, actions, and experiences, we can experience freedom from the cravings that are the base of our addictions. This compassionate book is highly recommended for anyone struggling with cravings or addictions of any type, as a first step on the road to recovery. Reviewed by Gretchen Wagner
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